Tegna Deal May Be Dead

Back in March, Tegna filed a formal application with the Federal Communications Commission requesting a review of Standard General’s pending acquisition of the network – an $8.6 billion dollar deal. Both Tegna and Standard General have stated that any further delay of their lengthy regulatory review, which started over a year ago, will “kill the deal before a ruling could be made.” The deadline for reaching a financial agreement has been set for May 22, 2023, according to Cord Cutters News. 

The FCC’s Media Bureau halted Standard General’s acquisition of Tegna’s 64 TV stations in addition to other assets by designating an administrative law judge to take a deep look into “material concerns in the record related to how the proposed transaction could artificially raise prices for consumers and result in job losses.”

After a status conference, Tegna and Standard General requested the FCC reach a decision before May 17th. FCC administrative law judge, Jane Hinckley Halprin, suspended this review “until further notice,” as she believes the timeline is not ample enough to allow for full discovery nor does she think there is a reason to proceed with the hearings if the deal is rumored to be killed.

Standard General released a statement on the matter of this “slow-roll review”:

“As we have said for months, the FCC Media Bureau’s decision to designate the applications for hearing was a deliberate move to kill the transaction rather than to assist in making a decision. At any point between now and May 22nd, the FCC has the ability to override the Media Bureau’s deeply flawed Hearing Designation Order and bring this deal to a vote. We urge the FCC to listen to the countless bipartisan voices calling for a vote and fair treatment of the applicants.”

While nothing is definite yet, it appears these delays could signal the end of Standard General and Tegna’s deal.